Chapter Ten: Corrosion

"And here's the computer room!" Steven entered the Ark's main control room, Connie following close behind. A day of being stuck together had brought them close, but it wasn't until they had started hanging out of their own free will that they had grown even closer. Connie had been overjoyed for a chance to see the Autobots working up close, and Steven had been just as excited to show her. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"That's putting it mildly," she replied, her eyes wandering all around the room. "How big is this ship, anyway?"

Nearby, Elita was busy running an inventory of the Ark's current Predacon inmates. "Almost as big as Beach City," she answered. "If it ever took off, any part of the town that survived being uprooted would fall into the resulting sinkhole."

Connie was both amazed and a little terrified by this detail. If the look on Steven's face was any indication, he felt the same way. "That's, uh…woah," she said.

"It is indeed pretty 'woah.'" Ultra Magnus entered the room. "Elita, have you seen Sideswipe at all recently? He isn't answering his communicator."

She looked up from the screen, confused and perhaps a small bit concerned. "No, I haven't seen him since yesterday. Why? Is something wrong?"

Magnus looked worried as well. Connie could tell he was trying to downplay it, whatever 'it' was. "Not necessarily. But did you notice he was acting a little odd yesterday?"

"Odd?" Elita tried to remember, but no details came to mind. "Odd how?"

"He seemed more tired than usual," Steven said. "He must be sleeping in."

"In that case, it wouldn't hurt to check on him," said Magnus. He, followed by Steven and Connie, went to Sideswipe's room with the hope that he was still there. "Sideswipe? Are you alright?" he asked, lightly knocking on the door.

There was a bit of noise on the other side, likely Sideswipe stirring in his bed. He didn't respond at first, but he snapped when Magnus knocked again. "Alright, alright! Jeez, can't a guy sleep in on his day off?" A moment later, the door slid open, revealing a very tired and grouchy Sideswipe. "Whaddya want?"

Magnus was rendered momentarily silent by the sight of him in such a state, but quickly recovered. "You weren't answering your communicator," he said simply.

"Yeah, well, maybe that was because I was asleep, y'ever think of that!?" he snapped. "Can you blame me, it's been real rough around here lately…"

"...Has it?" asked Steven. "It's been a little while since we've been on any missions. Wait, have you been going out on secret missions on your own!?" This question was asked with just as much excitement as it was concern.

Sideswipe only rolled his eyes in response–an answer Steven seemed to take to heart, his shoulders drooping. "As if these two would trust me to handle things alone. Well, I'm up now, so we might as well get the day started!" He pushed past Magnus and made his way towards the main chamber…only to suddenly fall to his knees with a groan.

The three of them rushed over to help him up. "Sideswipe! Are you okay?" asked Steven worriedly. "You're not sick, are you?" As Magnus helped him stand up, Connie stood by watching.

"Transformers don't get sick," he said, annoyed. Despite leaning on him, he tried to push Magnus away, stumbling down the hallway. "I'm fine. I just need to get a little…a little…what day is it today?" With that, Sideswipe unceremoniously fainted.

"Sideswipe!" Magnus rushed to his side, as did Steven and Connie.

"Is he alright?" asked the latter. "Check his vitals!" Magnus was already doing so.

Hearing the commotion, Elita ran over. "What's going on!?" she asked, immediately kneeling beside Sideswipe to tend to him as well. "We have to get him to the medical chamber!"

"Agreed!" Magnus and Elita both lifted him up, carrying him towards a room Steven himself had once been examined in. The two humans rushed to the side so as not to be underfoot, watching the three of them head inside. Steven's mind was racing, trying to come up with some explanation to explain just what was wrong with Sideswipe. He was so distressed that he nearly forgot Connie was there, until he felt a comforting hand on his arm.

"He's gonna be okay," she assured him. "Whatever's wrong, I'm sure Elita and Magnus know how to deal with it. They've been doing this for thousands of years, after all!"

The idea of experience definitely comforted Steven. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I'm sure it's nothing too serious." But despite that, he still worried. "Come on, let's see if there's anything we can do."

"I don't know what you mean, I feel fine," Sideswipe said drowsily. Laying down on the table, he was hooked up to numerous machines that read his vitals. "Can I stay home from school tomorrow?"

As the other two worked tirelessly to achieve a prognosis, Steven and Connie sat nearby, hoping for the same. "Sideswipe said Transformers can't get sick," Steven said quietly. "Is that true?"

"In a way," Elita said between her attention to multiple screens. "We aren't susceptible to diseases in the same way humans are. But, being machines, we are still susceptible to types of malware and degradation. Cosmic rust, hate plague, gold plastic syndrome…none of that looks like what's happening here, though."

Sideswipe tried to stand for the fifth time, with Magnus not even looking when he nudged him back down. "Hey, c'mon, you can't keep me here all day," he slurred. "I have a dance to get to. I have a daaaaaaaance…" He leaned back onto the table, staring off into the distance.

"So far, the symptoms we have are delirium, mood swings, fatigue," summed up Magnus. "You don't think Sideswipe accidentally downloaded a virus again, do you?"

Elita shook her head. "Even Sideswipe learned his lesson from that. Besides, we got him some antiviral software, and even if we hadn't the symptoms then weren't the same as now. This is something different."

"Um, excuse me?" Connie got to her feet. "I know I probably don't know as much about Cybertronian physiology as you do, seeing as, well, you are Cybertronians, but could I make a suggestion? Maybe he just needs to refuel. Sometimes I get pretty groggy if I forget to eat for a while."

Magnus and Elita exchanged a glance. "I suppose it's worth a try," said the former. "Even if that isn't the direct cause, energon depletion can exacerbate existing symptoms." The latter went to get a vial of the fuel, bringing it over to Sideswipe.

To everyone's (mild, at this point) surprise, he shoved the energon away. "Get that stuff away from me! Can't you see I'm watching my figure!?" In his efforts to escape the life-giving substance, he fell off the table, feebly trying to crawl away. Magnus helped him up, but he refused to stand of his own power.

"Now this is starting to get perplexing," said Magnus, allowing Sideswipe to slump into a sitting position. "I can't think of a single ailment that would make a Cybertronian refuse energon. This has to be the work of a Predacon!"

"You're a Predacon," Sideswipe mumbled. He then began giggling, as though what he said was the funniest thing in the world.

"Maybe he's just not hungry," suggested Steven. Unlikely, considering this was Sideswipe, but still possible. "Let's just ask him. Sideswipe, are you not hungry?"

He looked over. "I wanna eat aaaaaaaall the lemons." Laying on his back, he began pushing himself around with his legs.

"...I think we can count that as a no," Connie said. "Maybe he ate something that didn't agree with him? Why don't you check his energon, maybe something's infected that."

Magnus produced a syringe from a cabinet. "Already on it." He chased down the errant Autobot and removed a sample of energon from his arm. Everyone expected Sideswipe to raise a fuss about the needle, but he barely reacted. He placed the tool into a device near the computer, which began to analyze it. "Hopefully, whatever this is, it's something we've dealt with before. Different ailments may have different effects on different Cybertronians, so there's still the possibility that–"

While Magnus spoke, Elita had been examining the computer's findings. For the most part, everything appeared normal, with all his systems functioning as intended. However, when she saw the root of the problem, she couldn't stifle her gasp. She stepped back from the monitor as the other three asked her what was wrong.

"Get Steven and Connie out of here, now," she ordered. Magnus immediately obliged, not even waiting for an answer. Meanwhile, Elita pulled Sideswipe back onto the examining table, hooking him back up to the machine. Once he was secured, she exited the medical chamber, sealing the room behind her.

The entire ordeal had left the other three with numerous worries and questions. "Elita, what's going on?" asked Steven, concerned both for her and his big brother. "What's wrong with Sideswipe?"

She stayed silent for a moment, as though the answer itself was painful to say. "Elita," Magnus said, taking hold of her hand. The two of them met eyes, and she sighed.

"The computer analyzed Sideswipe's energon sample," she said hesitantly, "and it came back…not clean. I don't know how, but it looks like Sideswipe's somehow been infected with dark energon."

Silence. Despite their different levels of understanding of the subject, all three of them knew that this was incredibly bad, not only for Sideswipe himself but for everyone involved. Connie gasped at the news, covering her mouth. Magnus went as pale as a giant robot could be, stepping back in shock. And Steven instantly looked over at the door, filling up with dread for the one sealed inside.

"Wh…how?" Connie asked softly. "My mom says there's only a few places on the planet where dark energon can be found. Where could he have gotten infected?"

"The machine." Everyone looked at Steven, who slowly walked over to the door. "There was that giant place out in the ocean that was spreading dark energon around. He must've gotten some on him when we went there to shut it down." He looked up at Elita with pleading eyes. "Is…is there any way you can fix him?"

Elita looked through the window into the room. Sideswipe was sitting almost completely still on the table, only occasionally moving to glance around. "I…I don't know," she admitted. "Dark energon is still a little-understood phenomenon. We were never able to figure out how to cure it in the past. The only thing that ever came close was Optimus' Matrix of Leadership."

"The who now?" Steven asked, tilting his head to the side.

"You've never heard of the Matrix of Leadership?" said Connie in disbelief. "It's only the ancient relic that signifies leadership of the Autobots! Optimus prime inherited it from the leader before him, who got it from the previous one, and so on. My mom told me it's one of the most powerful Transformer artifacts there is!"

Hope returned to Steven. "That's great! If we find that, we can cure Sideswipe! So, where is it?"

Elita and Magnus shared an uncertain glance. Steven's hope slowly began to vanish. "That's kind of the problem," said Magnus. "Before he…ahem, Optimus never passed it on. As far as we know, it's still with him, which is a problem, because it isn't always a physical object. It always exists within its current owner, which would make it a bit…difficult to get to now."

Connie was deep in thought. "Well, Magnus, you're the leader now, right? Even if Optimus didn't pass it to you directly, shouldn't you have it as a result of being the de facto leader?"

"It doesn't work like…" Magnus paused. He didn't think it worked like that, but he didn't know for certain that it didn't work like that, either. "No, there's no chance. Right, Elita?"

She was at a loss. "Even Optimus wasn't entirely sure how the Matrix worked. If it's our only option to save Sideswipe, then I'm willing to try anything." After making sure he still wasn't up and about, she carefully opened the door and crept inside.

Despite how afraid Elita and Magnus were of him, Steven didn't think Sideswipe looked dangerous like this. If anything, he looked even less dangerous than he was regularly, what with him being bedridden and sickly. "Elita! 'S goin' on?" he mumbled, making a token effort to stand up before she gently pushed him back down. "So, how was the get-together? 'D you meet any cute boys?"

"No, not this time," she said in what Steven recognized as her 'humoring' voice. "Why don't you get some rest? You were pretty tired earlier, after all."

He laughed. "That was then, this is now! I feel like a new bot! C'mon, let's go and rob a bank!" He once again tried to get up, and Elita once again had to keep him in bed.

"Sideswipe, we've talked about this, no robbing banks. Magnus, could you give me a hand here?"

Magnus came over to make sure that Sideswipe stayed still while Elita tried to figure out a way to slow the spread of dark energon. "What about repair gel? Could that work?"

She shook her head. "That would only fix physical damage. The dark energon is already flowing through his distribution systems, so there's nothing we can do there. We need to find some way to counteract it before it infects his spark." She placed a hand on Sideswipe's chest, feeling if it was still beating.

"Where is he, where's my guy?" Sideswipe looked all around before his eyes settled on Steven. "Steven, c'mere, c'mere," he said in an urgent whisper. "Hurry, it's important!"

Steven hopped up next to the table. "Yeah?" he said, worry once more washing over him. "You can tell me anything, Swiper."

Sideswipe looked around, as though making sure he wasn't being watched, before leaning in. "Coconuts have water in them!" he declared, as though it was the most important thing in the world.

"Uh…" Steven wasn't sure how to take this life-changing revelation. "That's…cool. Elita, how much longer does he have?"

Once again checking his vitals, Elita didn't look very confident. "It's hard to say. Could be hours, could be weeks. It all depends on his emotional state."

Connie climbed up to where Steven was. "That's something, at least. All we have to do is keep him calm and content, and that should slow the infection! Right?"

"In theory," Magnus answered. "Unfortunately, that's easier said than done. But if there was a way to keep him from getting agitated…"

He glanced over at Elita, who understood what he had in mind. "Here, this should work." She opened a drawer and removed a needle, returning to Sideswipe's side. "Here, this should…this should make you feel better," she said hesitantly, preparing to inject it into his side.

"Elita?" Before she could, he reached up to weakly hold her hand. His eyes were wide with quiet terror. "Where's Optimus?"

These words caused Elita to freeze up, her entire body going numb. "I-I…" She couldn't find the words. None of them could.

"Why isn't he here? Where is he?" Sideswipe sounded like he was close to tears. "Elita, I'm scared…I w-want Optimus…"

Elita grabbed hold of her wrist, noticing that her hand was shaking. "Everything's going to be alright," she whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. "This really will make you feel better, okay? Just…try to rest for now." She pressed the syringe into his arm, and before long, he fell asleep.

Nobody spoke for a good long time. Magnus silently moved over to the door, wordlessly getting the others to follow. Everybody filed out of the room to reconvene in the hallway. Before he left, Steven looked back at Sideswipe, lying still on the table. At least he was peaceful now.

"So, um…that was pretty upsetting," Connie said, staring at the floor. Although nobody agreed verbally, it was clear that they were all thinking it. "What do we do now?"

Magnus was deep in thought. "There's…something I want to try. I might know where to find the Matrix."

"You do?" asked Steven, looking up. "That's great! We can go there, find it, heal Sideswipe, and then everything will be fine! So, where is it?"

It seemed like Magnus was uncomfortable answering. "I can't guarantee anything, so I don't want to get anyone's hopes up. But right now, we don't have many other ideas, so…it's worth a shot. You all stay here and make sure his condition stays stable."

With that, he began walking further into the Ark. Despite essentially living there his whole life, there was still much of the ship Steven hadn't seen, so even he couldn't say what was down there. "Where exactly are you going?" asked Elita.

Stopping for a single moment, Magnus looked back with an expression Steven couldn't quite place. The closest he could come was sadness mixed with worry, but that was what they were all feeling now. Elita seemed to immediately pick up on something, nodding as he continued along.

Once he was gone, Elita sighed. "Okay, he's right. We have to make sure Sideswipe's stable. Energon blockers can slow the flow of energon, but–" She froze upon glancing back towards her patient, before rushing into the room. "No, no…where is he!?"

Connie and Steven instinctively moved closer together. With growing dread, they realized that Sideswipe was no longer laying on the table–in fact, he didn't seem to be in the room at all. "Huh? Where could he have gone?" asked Connie.

Elita frantically searched the room, looking through cabinets and behind cupboards, but found no sign of him. "Ugh, he's even more of an escape artist now than he was before!" she groaned. "Okay, we need to split up. Steven, Connie, spread out and search the Ark. If you find him, call me immediately. There's no telling how–"

Once again, Elita couldn't finish her sentence, though this time it was because she was interrupted. "Warning: dangerous level of dark energon detected," came the voice of Teletraan, as the halls were bathed in red light. "Sealing off all rooms. Please remain where you are, and wait for this situation to be resolved." The door to the infirmary slammed shut, trapping Elita inside.

"No, no!" she shouted, banging on the door. "Teletraan, override lockdown procedures!" But there was no reply.

Steven and Connie, now alone, tried futilely to open the door. "Elita! What do we do!?" asked Steven.

Elita took several breaths, struggling to stay calm. "Okay…Steven, listen to me: the two of you are going to need to head to the main computer to manually override the lockdown. I'll call you from the terminal once you're there, and walk you through the procedure."

"What about Sideswipe?" asked Connie. "This lockdown means he's been fully infected, doesn't it?"

"Maybe. Energon blockers must have the opposite effect on dark energon, causing it to flow faster," Elita suggested. "But right now, all we can do is deal with this lockdown. Once it's lifted, we'll find Sideswipe, and do whatever we can to cure him. It's alright, Steven, you can do this."

In spite of his fear, he nodded. "I-I can do this," he repeated hesitantly. "I can do this!" he said, more triumphantly this time. "Connie, let's go! It's up to us to save everybody!"

"Let's do this!" The two of them hurried back towards the ship's main computer, leaving Elita to hope they would be fine on their own.

A sudden pang of worry ran down her spine. Connie was right that the lockdown meant his corruption had progressed to a dangerous level. But if he wasn't in the medbay…where was he?

As the two of them crept through the halls, Connie silently wondered how exactly the red warning lights were supposed to help in an emergency. Teletraan had already informed them that something was wrong, so all the lights did was make everyone feel even more claustrophobic and unsafe. Really, all they were doing was making things worse. Why did it seem like every spaceship or secret facility had something like that?

Still, she was comforted by Steven's presence, and he by hers. "Sideswipe?" he called, his voice echoing through the eerie silence of the locked down ship. "If you can hear me, it's okay! We can fix this! You just need to stop hiding!" But there was no answer.

"Maybe we should focus on lifting this lockdown first," Connie said. "It'll probably be easier to find him when all the doors aren't closed, and we have the regular lights back."

"Yeah, probably," Steven agreed. The two of them continued on towards the control room, which seemed much farther away than usual. "So, um…you really know a lot about Transformers, huh?"

Connie's worried expression was replaced by a small smile. "Of course! Both Mom and Dad work at NEST, so I've basically been surrounded by Transformers my whole life–well, not literally. Back at the museum was the first time I got to meet one in person. I think it's awesome that you get to live with the Autobots, you can see them every day!"

Her enthusiasm was infections, spreading to him–but only a small bit. "It is pretty cool," he admitted, despite all of the downsides coming to mind. "Has…has your mom ever said anything about me? Not like that, but…about what I am?"

She gave him an odd look. "And what are you? As far as I can tell, you're not so different from the other kids I know. Just a whole lot cooler."

He couldn't help chuckling. "I mean, like, as a half-Transformer. The 'bots are always telling me there's never been someone like me. I just hoped that, since she's a scientist, she'd know something about what makes me so special."

"Steven, I've only known you for a little bit," Connie said. "But in that time, I think I already know what makes you special. You're happy when everyone else is happy. You always see the bright side of things, and you're always willing to help somebody cheer up, or offer them a helping hand. Sure, maybe there is nobody else like you…but isn't that a good thing?"

Connie's words had reached a part of Steven that was usually only reserved for Greg or the 'bots. "T-thanks. I think…I think you're pretty special, too." He felt a new wave of pride washing over him, and with it, a wave of determination. "Now let's go save Sideswipe!"

"Let's go!" They continued their voyage, but slowed when they heard a sound echoing through the halls. As it had previously been silent, the sound's presence was as eerie as the sound itself. "Is someone…crying?"

The sound indeed sounded like the forlorn weeping of some distant grief-stricken individual. "S-Sideswipe?" Steven asked softly, hoping that the ill Cybertronian would respond. But the weeping continued, only adding to the eeriness of their surroundings. "I think that's him. C'mon." The duo followed the sound to try and locate its source.

The sobbing led them towards a room that, for reasons unknown, had not been sealed. It was Sideswipe's bedroom. "Sideswipe? Are you okay?" asked Connie. "Do you want to talk about it?" When he only continued to cry, they slowly slipped inside.

The Autobot in question was kneeling beside his bed, curled up in a heap with his back to the door. His head was buried in his hands as he sobbed bitterly. "It's all my fault…it's all my fault…" he moaned miserably.

Despite knowing the dangers his contamination presented, Steven couldn't resist approaching his friend to offer a comforting hand. "No, no, it's not your fault," he soothed. "We just need to get to the main room so we can open the doors, and then Elita can fix you. It's all gonna be alright."

"Sunstreaker…why?" he moaned, seeming not to have noticed Steven. "Why did you do that? I wasn't worth it…" His sobs quieted into mere whimpers. "We could've…"

Connie cautiously approached. "Who…who's Sunstreaker?" she asked, stepping around to his front. "Is that a friend of yours, from back during the war?" She glanced over at Steven for clarification.

"I-I don't know," he answered. "I've never heard that name either. What's going–?" Steven had leaned in closer to inspect his friend, but what he saw made him jump back in fear.

Sideswipe was crying, this they knew, but actual tears were falling down his face. A dark, glowing liquid dripped down from his eyes–dark energon. "No…" Connie whispered, slowly stepping back from the scene. But then, as though something in him had shifted, Sideswipe turned around to face them. Both were frozen in their tracks, staring petrified as he examined them.

"S-Steven…" he croaked, turning around with jerky motions. "Why are you…? What is…?" He was cut off by a coughing fit, with dark energon now leaking out of his mouth as well. "You shouldn't…be here!"

"But I have to be here!" Steven cried, his voice tinged with helplessness. "I have to help you!"

"C-can't…" he rasped. At first, Connie thought that the tears of dark energon were covering his eyes, making them appear purple. But his normally blue optics had now become fully dyed the color of the insidious substance. "Run…"

Steven stood firm. "I'm not running away," he declared. "Not until we find some way to–"

"Run…from ME!" With an unearthly snarl, Sideswipe suddenly lunged at the pair, almost crushing them beneath his hand. They managed to split apart moments before, quickly making their way out of the room. "Go, Steven! Run away!" he growled.

As soon as they were outside, Steven leapt up to the door controls, sealing him in. But this didn't stop his pursuit, as they heard a massive crash as he slammed against the door. The window was soon covered in dark energon as Sideswipe did everything in his power to get out, filling the air with abominable howls as he did.

"Quick! We have to get out of here!" Connie took Steven by the hand, pulling him down the corridor and away from the beast that used to be his brother. Not moments after they made their escape, the door was bashed out of place, and a grasping hand burst through towards them. Connie refused to look back, but Steven couldn't look away.

He pulled against Connie's grip, unwilling to leave Sideswipe behind. "We can't just abandon him!" he shouted. "He still needs our help!"

"We can't do anything for him now!" she cried, pulling him away from the approaching zombie, for lack of a better term. "All we can do now is open the doors, and hope that Elita or Magnus found a solution!"

Sideswipe shambled after them, constantly leaking the shadowy fluid from his mouth and eyes. "Keep going! Faster!" he gurgled, a part of him still fighting against his corruption. "Don't let me hurt you!"

Although Steven hadn't explored much of the ship, there were parts of it he knew like the back of his hand. "Through there!" he shouted, pointing out an air duct close to the ground. It was the perfect size for a pair of humans to slip through, and they did just that. The two scampered away from the opening just as Sideswipe's hand crashed through the grate, scratching at the walls in an effort to grab them. Further and further through the vents they ran, until his screeching faded into dull echoes.

Now that they were relatively safe, the two of them leaned against the wall to catch their breath. Connie was shaken up by the experience, but Steven looked as though his entire reality was falling apart. Considering someone he had known his entire life, someone who he considered family, had just tried to kill him, this was understandable. "A-are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Steven checked himself for injuries while maintaining his shell-shocked stare. "No," he replied, barely audible. "You?"

"I'm fine," Connie said. "At least, on the outside." She waited a moment to see if Steven had anything to add. When he didn't, she continued. "We'll save him, Steven. We just need to get to the computer room. You know the way, right?"

"Computer room," Steven mumbled, before swallowing dryly. "Y-yeah, it's just down this way. C'mon, let's hurry." He jogged down the vent, with Connie staying close behind.

They were careful not to make too much noise, as they could still hear Sideswipe shuffling around in the halls. He made disgusting gurgling noises as he searched, noises that no living being should ever make, robotic or otherwise. Steven wasn't sure what was worse: that Sideswipe was still alive in there somewhere, or that he wouldn't be for much longer. But if anyone could save him, it was Elita or Magnus. He vowed he would do his part, running as fast as he could without making a sound.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally made it to Teletraan's main terminal. Steven helped Connie through the vent, and she pulled him through as well. "Okay, we just need to let Elita know we're here. Teletraan, call Elita!"

"Calling Elita-1." After a moment, Elita's face appeared on the monitor.

"Steven? Steven, are you there? Did you make it?" A look of palpable relief crossed her face once she saw the two of them unharmed. "Thank Primus…okay, are you ready?"

"H-hold on," Connie said. "Sideswipe's still out there. What if he hears us in here and tries to come get us?"

"What do you mean he's still–?" With a look of horror, Elita seemed to realize what she meant. "It's already progressed to the next stage. Okay, new plan: one of you stand guard by the door, the other follow my instructions to lift the lockdown. If you see Sideswipe out there, hide immediately, understand?"

Steven and Connie looked at one another and nodded. "Got it." The former headed over to the door, while the latter climbed up to the computer. "Alright, I'm ready, Elita!"

Although Elita clearly had them doing things the other way around in her mind, she nevertheless got to work. She talked Connie through the process of overriding the security shutdown. All things considered, she was surprisingly good at working the computer, especially considering she had to press the buttons by stepping on them. All the while, Steven stood watch by the door. "Anything, Steven?" he heard Elita ask.

"No, not yet," he said, still a bit distracted. "I don't think he knows we're in here."

The thought that Sideswipe was unaccounted for made Elita nervous, but as long as he wasn't near any of them… "Even still, I want you two to hide once you're finished here. He's still incredibly dangerous like this, and he could infect either one of you."

"Don't worry, we'll lay low while you do your thing," Connie assured her. She looked over at Steven, who, though he diligently kept his eyes open for danger, still had a despondent look about him. Her concern for him outweighing her concern for herself, she called out to him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"M-me?" he asked. "Yeah, fine, totally. My best friend just got turned into a zombie and tried to eat us, but I'm fine, we're fine, we can fix him! W-we can…" He trailed off.

This was the cue for Connie to climb down from the terminal and head over to him. Stopping the lockdown could wait–she had to make sure he was okay. "If you're upset, you can talk about it," she said gently.

He glanced back at her, before frantically turning his attention back through the window. "Upset? No, who's upset? Not me, that's for sure!" He let out a humorless laugh. "Just a little…traumatized for life…" His gaze unfocused. "Actually, I think maybe I'm not fine."

Connie leaned against him in an almost-hug. "We're going to get through this," she promised him. "We're going to be strong, and we're going to do this together. And once we're done, and everyone's safe, I can have my mom hook you up with a good therapist. Sound good?"

Despite his hesitation, Steven knew they still had a job to do. Sideswipe was still in danger–as were they–so this was no time to fall apart. "Sounds great," he answered.

"I'm proud of you, Steven," Elita said from the monitor. "You handle crisis well–just like your father." He beamed at the comparison. "There's no time to waste. We need to unlock the doors before–"

For the third time, Elita was interrupted, this time by a loud bang coming from the floor. A metal panel near the terminal shifted, as though it was struck from beneath. An eerie groan emanated from underneath them, its source obvious.

"No…he's in the heating systems again!" shouted Elita. "Steven, Connie, get out of there, now!"

They ran for the vent, only for the zombified Sideswipe to burst up through the floor in a shower of dark energon, screeching once he saw them. "Run! Other way!" Connie once again pulled Steven out of danger, with the undead terror scratching at their heels. The pair hid behind the terminal as he pulled himself out of the ground.

The form of Sideswipe pulled itself through the room, gurgling as it searched for them. Connie's mouth was pressed over her mouth, while Steven desperately tried to activate his powers. "C'mon, get big, get big!" he mumbled, making sure to stay quiet. But despite how hard he tried, he couldn't achieve his Transformer form.

"Steven." Connie nudged him to grab his attention. She pointed over at the vent, which the zombie had wandered away from. They nodded at each other, before slowly creeping in that direction.

With a shriek, the thing that used to be Sideswipe darted towards them, reaching out a hand. "Go, go!" They sprinted towards the vent, but it cut them off with a surprising burst of speed. With one final lunge, it leapt at Steven.

He closed his eyes, preparing to feel its metal fingers wrap around him. But instead, he felt Connie's hands press against him, pushing him out of the way. For a moment, everything was still, as their eyes met. They reached for each other…only for Sideswipe to pull her away. "Run!" she yelled.

Steven watched helplessly as Sideswipe lifted the girl up to inspect her. There seemed to be a flicker of recognition in his eyes, but this soon faded, replaced with monstrous instinct. "No! Put her down!" Steven furiously pounded against Sideswipe's leg, hoping to somehow manifest the strength to overpower him. All that he did was annoy him, kicking the boy away. He quickly got back up, only to see Sideswipe lifting a struggling Connie towards his mouth. "NO!"

In an instant, there was a flash of light. The entire room was filled by the blinding blue glow, which had suddenly appeared from Steven's chest. Not a moment after, a beam of blue energy shot forth from the same place, striking Sideswipe. The energy coursed through his shrieking form, traveling to Connie as well, who he dropped to the floor. Luckily, she was used to long falls, from all her days exploring NEST facilities, so she caught herself.

Once the glow reached its apex, a burst of the same energy came from Sideswipe's body. It carried through the room, and he fell to the floor. Steven, who had been levitating throughout the ordeal, descended as well, holding something in his hands. It was an orange sphere, containing the blue glow in its center, with two handles on either side. Before either he or Connie could examine it, it disappeared, seeming to vanish back into his chest.

The entire time, Elita had watched through the monitor, horrified, but unable to help. Upon seeing that, she could only sit in stunned awe. "That's impossible," she whispered. "The Matrix of Leadership…"

"...Steven?" Connie slowly approached him, making sure he was alright. He looked a bit stunned, but otherwise didn't seem injured. "What was that? Are you okay?"

"I-I don't know," he said, looking at his chest, trying to discern where it went. "Was that really the Matrix?"

Connie shrugged. "I wish I knew. You'll have to ask the Autobots about that."

Elita shouted at them from the screen. "Steve! Connie! Are you both alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, we're fine!" Connie assured her. "A bit spooked, but no worse for wear. Right, Steven?" He nodded. "See? It's all fine!"

As though corroborating her statement, Teletraan gave an announcement that spread through the ship. "No dark energon detected. Lockdown lifted." And with that, the red lights let up, and all the sealed doors were opened. The three of them looked around in relief, no longer prisoners.

But both Steven and Connie turned with a start as Sideswipe got to his feet. They held their breath, hoping against hope he wasn't still a member of the undead. "Ugh…why's my head pounding?" he asked, his eyes back to their normal blue, and no longer oozing purple fluid. "...What? Did I say something wrong?"

"Sideswipe!" Steven sprinted to his side, throwing his arms around his ankle. Glad to see him safe as well, Connie approached too. "I was so scared you were gone for good!"

"Aww, don't worry, little buddy, I'm not going anywhere!" He reached down to pat Steven's back in assurance. "But, uh, where would I have gone?"

"It'll take some time to explain," said Connie. "Let's wait until everyone else gets here."

Considering he just heard the account of how he had been corrupted into some kind of undead beast, Sideswipe was taking things surprisingly well. "Wow… So Steven inherited Optimus' Matrix thingy, huh? That's a pretty big honor."

All five of them had reconveined back in the medbay. Elita was making sure that he and the two humans were free from any lasting damage. "Part of me is surprised," said Magnus. "But on the other hand, it makes perfect sense. You must have inherited it, just like human parents pass on their traits. Though I'm hesitant to call the Matrix of Leadership a mere 'trait'..."

"Hang on," said Connie. "Since Steven is the holder of the Matrix of Leadership…does that make him the leader of the Autobots?"

Steven gave a small laugh. "I don't think I'm ready for that kind of responsibility just yet." He placed a hand on his chest. "But in the future, who knows?"

Elita put away her instruments. "Well, all traces of dark energon have been completely expunged. And not only that, but it doesn't look like Connie's suffered any effects from being bathed in the Matrix's light."

"Wh–but how is that possible?" asked Magnus. "Raw energon like that should be incredibly toxic to humans."

"Normally, it would be, but we still aren't entirely sure how the Matrix works," Elita replied. "It's entirely possible its life-giving light is a panacea to all forms of life, not just Cybertronians." She turned to Connie. "Let us know if you notice any side-effects, yes?"

She nodded, absently fiddling with her glasses. "Will do," she said. "Hey, um, Magnus? You were looking for the Matrix down deeper in the Ark. Why did you think it would be down there?"

Magnus looked away uncomfortably. "Uh, I was just looking through Optimus' old belongings," he said quickly. "Thought it might be there. But it's a good thing it wasn't, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to bring it to you! You did a good job up there today, Steven."

"Thanks," he said with a slight blush, "but Connie saved me, too. Sideswipe would probably have eaten me if she hadn't been there."

Connie beamed as they looked at each other. "I just did what my instincts told me to do. It's not that big a deal, really."

"It is for me!" he replied. "I wish I had instincts like yours…"

Sideswipe wrapped his arms around them both. Perhaps not the best choice, considering the circumstances, but they smiled after a small fright. "And thanks to the both of you, I didn't eat anybody's processors! I call that a victory, huh? C'mon, you guys, bring it in!"

Both Elita and Magnus, after only a moment of hesitation, joined in on the group hug, happy that everyone was safe. "Let's all agree to never have anything to do with dark energon again!" said Steven.

"Sounds good to me!" Elita answered. "I won't even look at dark energon from this point forward! It's only dangerous if you get near it!"

"I've had enough to last me a lifetime!" said Sideswipe.

"It's a promise, then!" said Magnus.

Connie stayed silent, wondering if that was really a promise they could keep. Still, though, she didn't worry too much. Right now, they were all safe, all together. She treasured it for as long as it could last. And besides, now that Steven could use the Matrix, he was basically invincible, right?"

…Right?

AN: This chapter's on the spooky side, so consider it my Halloween episode for the year. Happy Halloween, all!